A Sink or Swim Situation
by Bird of Dreams
Summary: Tsuna never thought that swimming class could be more dangerous than any mafia business he had ever been involved in...


**A/N:** I love this fandom to bits and I'm so happy to finally be able to join in! So without further ado, here is my humble contribution to the KHR fandom.

Just a quick note: I don't think Mochida is actually in the same class or grade as Tsuna and Co, but I tweaked that fact in the story.

I also apologize in advance for the OC but he acts as more of a background character. Besides, it was strangely addicting to torture the poor sensei...

**Summary: **Tsuna never thought that swimming class could be more dangerous than any mafia business he had ever been involved in...

**Disclaimer:** All the lovely characters in Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belong to the amazing Akira Amano. I do not own or claim to own anything.

**Warnings**: Some swearing

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**A Sink of Swim Situation**

As a student brought up with Reborn's careful tutelage and utmost care (read: Spartan methods and hellish training), Tsuna had been introduced to some fairly dangerous situations over the years. From evading assassination attempts on a daily basis to protecting his friends from rival families, it's no surprise that Tsuna soon shed his 'dame' attitude and had come to embrace the more mature and assertive side of him—the side of him that would one day rule over the strongest mafia _famiglia_ in all of Italy.

By his third and final year of high school, Tsuna had already established a reputation for himself as an above average student. He had also finally managed to garner a modicum of respect from the rest of his classmates, though there were still times when they brought up his 'Dame-Tsuna' past. Yes, Tsuna had faced some fairly dangerous situations throughout the years, but nothing could have prepared him for his biggest challenge yet: swimming class.

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Kazuya-sensei thinks he needs a new job. After teaching the swimming class at Namimori High for over seven years, it's not strange for him to feel this way. Sure it was fun in the beginning, but once the novelty wore off, he seriously considered finding a new occupation. One could only take so much of seeing rowdy horseplay and hormonal teenage boys trying to peek at swimsuit-clad girls after all.

When he heard that he would be overseeing Nezu-sensei's class 3A for their swim lesson today, Kazuya-sensei was right to be more than a little concerned. In any case, the rumors circulating this class and the bits of gossip he'd overheard from the faculty weren't pleasant at all. From the infamous delinquent Gokudera Hayato to the hotheaded Mochida Kensuke, Kazuya-sensei has heard them all. And if what he heard matched up to reality, well, Kazuya-sensei's feelings of concern are more than justified.

As he stood in front of the swimming pool, waiting for the students of class 3A to come out of their respective changing rooms, he sighed deeply. He just hoped that he wasn't making a serious mistake by not calling in sick today.

Kazuya-sensei could already hear loud chattering and laughter from the boys and whispering and giggling from the group of girls as the students made their way to the swimming pool. He could make out a fairly tall black-haired teen strolling arrogantly at the front of the group, throwing confident smirks at the squealing girls. Oh dear, this must be that Mochida Kensuke. He'll have to keep an eye out for that one. Kazuya-sensei sighed deeply again before walking forward to greet his students. No use putting off the inevitable.

"Good morning, class 3A. I am Kazuya-sensei and I will be overseeing your swimming class today." He started off. "I'll go ahead and take roll now. But first of all, do you see any of your classmates absent?"

"No surprise that Dame-Tsuna's not here." Mochida declared in a loud voice. "He probably ditched because he didn't want anyone to see his weak scrawny body." Most of the students laughed at this and more than a few of the girls threw appreciative glances at Mochida's own bare chest.

"Shut up, bastard! Don't you dare insult Juudaime!" A silver-haired teen immediately snarled.

"Maa maa, Mochida. Tsuna will be here soon." Another tall black-haired student said cheerfully. Judging by their reactions and piecing it together with what he had heard beforehand, Kazuya-sensei deduced these two students to be Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi, two popular boys who also had their fair share of appreciative female looks.

Mochida gave a sour look at the two other teens' defensive remarks. "Che. I don't understand why you are defending that loser, Yamamoto. What's so great about Dame-Tsuna anyways?"

Gokudera growled and was about to leap forward if not for Yamamoto's restraining hand. Yamamoto kept his easygoing smile, but his eyes had visibly hardened at Mochida's comment. "Tsuna's an amazing friend, Mochida. I would appreciate it if you didn't insult him in front of us."

Mochida was unnerved by the look in Yamamoto's eyes but he tried to casually brush if off with a "tch" and a muttered "whatever." Gokudera looked like he was ready to charge forward and literally knock some sense into the rude teen, but Yamamoto continued to hold him back.

Kazuya-sensei watched as the tense situation slowly diffused and sighed. Here he was, almost having to break apart a fight and it hasn't even been five minutes into class. He knew he should have called in sick today. Trying to pick up from where he last left off, Kazuya-sensei announced. "Alright, before we begin, I would..."

"I'm sorry I'm late!" A slightly breathless voice interrupted. Kazuya-sensei turned to see a honey-eyed brunet hurry towards the class.

"Juudaime! Tsuna!" Two voices immediately called out. Gokudera and Yamamoto quickly ran to the newcomer.

"I thought an enemy had gotten to you, Juudaime!" Gokudera exclaimed. "Please forgive this sorry excuse of a right-hand man for neglecting to keep a better eye out for you!"

"Maa maa, don't worry us like that, Tsuna." Yamamoto laughed.

Tsuna smiled genially. "I'm sorry for making the both of you worry. And Gokudera-kun, what did I say about the self-deprecating comments?" He chastised lightly.

Gokudera immediately lowered his head. "Forgive me, Juudaime."

The brunet sighed lightly as he gently pushed Gokudera's head back up. "There's no need to apologize, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna smiled for a moment longer before he realized with a start that they were still in the middle of class. Tsuna flushed lightly and bowed to Kazuya-sensei. "I apologize for my tardiness, sensei. I seem to have gotten lost on my way here from the locker room."

Tsuna straightened up with a sheepish smile. Everyone stopped and stared wide-eyed for a moment before whispers broke out like wildfire. "Is that really _Dame-Tsuna_?" "No way!" "Holy shit since when?"

At once, Gokudera whirled around, ready to chew out the people who dared talk about his beloved Juudaime behind his back before he, too, realized what they were staring it. It then took every ounce of his willpower to keep his jaw from dropping.

Everyone had fallen silent at the sight of Tsuna's bare chest, which was lean, but lightly muscled from years of intense training. There were a few faded scars here and there that only served to highlight his overall attractiveness. This, coupled up his slightly unruly hair and his innocent honey-brown eyes, was enough of a sight to make anyone swoon. Everyone had seen a shirtless Tsuna at least one time or another (Tsuna has those Dying Will bullets to thank for that), but never in their wildest dreams would they have imagined him to change this much.

Tsuna seemed to be oblivious to all the hungry looks being thrown in his direction, but he shifted uncomfortably when almost all of his female classmates (and several males) took a large step closer to him.

"So, Tsuna-kun." One girl practically cooed. "Since when have you been so..._fit_?" She punctuated her question with an obvious look-over.

Tsuna gulped visibly as his classmates continued to invade his personal bubble. "I guess you could say that I...um...work out?"

His female classmates all tittered excitedly at this response. "Really? Would you mind showing us the results then?"

"I...uh..." Tsuna's eyes widened comically and he began to panic as hands started to reach toward him. "Uh, guys? A little help here, please!"

Gokudera and Yamamoto, like the rest of the class, had also been transfixed on Tsuna's body, but snapped back to attention at his words. "What?" Once glance at seeing his beloved boss being nearly suffocated by squealing classmates was enough to make Gokudera's blood boil. "Oi! Back off, you bastards! Don't you dare defile Juudaime with your dirty hands!" Without further delay, Gokudera shoved his way to Tsuna's side and began to fend away the restless crowd.

"Now, now, we should all line up calmly instead of pushing like this." Yamamoto said in a slightly strained voice. It appeared that he was also having a bit of trouble trying to hold off the rabid crowd that was currently looking at them as if they were fresh pieces of meat.

Kazuya-sensei, too, had fallen into a slight daze, but he recollected himself at the sound of the boys' muffled yells. He quickly dug his whistle out of his pocket, almost dropping it in his haste, before blowing sharply into it.

At the sound of the shrill piercing whistle, everyone instantly froze. At any other time, Kazuya-sensei would have found the scene in front of him comical—the three boys were obviously trying to free themselves from their classmates (were they really trying to pull their _shorts_ off?), who in turn were happily taking the advantage to touch (read: grope) any expanse of bare skin. But at that moment, Kazuya-sensei just wanted this lesson—scratch that, this day—to end.

"Settle down, all of you." He said wearily. He watched as the classmates slowly crept back, all the while being glared at by an irate Gokudera. "Now, can we just get this class over with?" Kazuya-sensei sighed deeply. "Okay, first, I'll be teaching you the basic freestyle stroke for those of you who don't already know it." He consulted his clipboard briefly. "Sasagawa Kyoko?"

The orange-haired girl stepped forward. "Hai, sensei." Kazuya-sensei glanced at her and realized that he did not see her join in that crowd from earlier. Finally, a _sane_ one.

"Sasagawa," Kazuya-sensei looked at his clipboard again. "Nezu-sensei noted here that you volunteer as a junior lifeguard at the beach sometimes and have already demonstrated mastery over several strokes."

Kyoko smiled sweetly, ignoring the whispered comments that broke out after Kazuya-sensei's announcement of her accomplishments. "That is correct, sensei."

"Then would you mind demonstrating the freestyle stroke for the rest of the class? Just a short lap across the pool would be fine."

"Not at all, sensei." Kyoko agreed readily.

Kazuya-sensei smiled encouragingly. Yes, finally, a cooperative one. "Whenever you're ready then, Sasagawa."

Kyoko took a deep breath and readied herself before diving into the pool. The whole class watched as she swam confidently through the waters. At about halfway through the lap though, Kyoko suddenly paused in her movements. The whole class watched in horror as she seemed to flail for a moment before she was completely submerged underwater.

As the rest of the class panicked, Kazuya-sensei froze for a moment before he quickly recovered himself. But before he could take a single step, Tsuna had already jumped into action, quickly running to the side of the pool and jumping in with a sleek dive.

The whole class stood mesmerized at the sight of Tsuna cutting through the waters like a pro, each of his strokes sure and smooth. The brunet quickly made his way over to the middle of the pool and dove down in order to scoop Kyoko into his arms.

A relieved smile made its way across Tsuna's face when Kyoko began to cough up water and gulp in fresh oxygen. He steadily maneuvered the two of them back to dry land.

A crowd had formed at the edge of the pool, all chattering loudly amongst themselves. Tsuna accepted Gokudera and Yamamoto's proffered hand to pull himself out of the water, but kept a firm hold on Kyoko. He carefully walked over to a bench, still carrying Kyoko with apparent ease.

Tsuna gently lowered Kyoko onto the bench and waited patiently until she had stopped coughing. "Are you okay, Kyoko-chan?"

Kyoko didn't trust herself to speak at that moment and only managed a mute nod. "I-It was a cramp on my leg, Tsuna-kun." She managed to say, albeit shakily.

Tsuna flashed a warm smile at her. "It's okay, Kyoko-chan. I'm glad to see that you're okay though." He sighed lightly and ran a hand through his wet hair. "You should probably take it easy for a few minutes until the cramp goes away." He said kindly. Kyoko nodded again.

After making sure that Kyoko was truly okay, Tsuna stood back up. A drop of water dripped down his hair at his sudden movement and traveled down the expanse of his bare chest. All eyes immediately zoned in on the rivulets of water tracing their way down lean muscles, leaving a glistening sheen of water on his smooth, toned skin. Quite a few people suddenly found that they had to clamp a hand to their noses.

"Juudaime, you never cease to amaze me! I am so proud to be able to call myself your right-hand man!" Gokudera gushed, eyes completely starstruck.

"Tsuna! That was seriously amazing!" Yamamoto exclaimed, slapping a hand across Tsuna's still wet back.

"Thank you. But it wasn't anything that amazing, honestly. I just did what anyone else would have done." Tsuna replied modestly.

"No, no Juudaime is unparalleled! No one else can even come close!"

"Haha, take some credit for yourself, Tsuna! That really was incredible."

As Gokudera and Yamamoto continued to rain praise after praise on the flustered Tsuna, all the female (and several male) classmates immediately threw a meaningful look at the swimming pool and then glanced quickly back at Tsuna. More than several had already inched a few steps closer to the pool. It seemed that they had all come to the same conclusion.

In all his many years of teaching swimming class, Kazuya-sensei had never seen so many students drowning all at once.

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**A/N:** Don't you just feel sorry for Kazuya-sensei? Haha, my poor abused OC.

Uhm, please don't take this fic seriously—it was meant to be nothing more than just a cracky one-shot. :P Though the thought of a fit/ shirtless Tsuna is very appealing indeed. Granted, I would probably act just as his female classmates did if I were there. Hehe, no shame.

Please leave a review on your way out! And many thanks for reading this!

**-Bird of Dreams**


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